Game 4: Noblesville 14, North Central 0 (6 innings)
After North Central proved a lot of people wrong on the first night of the Noblesville sectional, we weren't sure if that same group of Panthers would show up to face the host Noblesville Millers on Memorial Day or not.
Senior Taran Murphy (5-2) took the mound for the Millers and had only one thing in mind. Pitch the Millers to a victory and be one step closer to a sectional championship on their home turf at The Dunk.
The Miller faithful was loud and proud Monday to cheer on their team. They got their chance first to hoop and holler, as Noblesville was the visitor on the scoreboard, despite playing on their home field. The rule is the whichever team receives the bye in the sectional bracket, that team will be the visiting team every game they play.
That didn't matter for the host Millers. After Sam Wides K'd looking, Luke Porter walked on five pitches. He got a free pass to second when Panther pitcher Mac Lozer tried picking Porter off at first and airmailed Ben Breymier. Andrew Wilson gave NHS two runners on with his walk. On the first pitch to Garrett Christman, Porter and Wilson converted the double-steal to put runners in scoring position. Christman's second pitch he saw was a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Porter to score for a 1-0 Noblesville lead.
They tallied another in the second. Garrett Welch smashed a one-out triple to the wall. He was driven home with ease by Nevin Fansher's sacrifice fly to left and it was now 2-0 Millers.
In the third, Wides singled and stole second. Porter drove Wides home on his RBI-double deep to the center field wall. Two batters later, Porter found himself scoring on Christman's second sac fly in as many plate appearances for a 4-0 Miller lead.
Seth Parrish came in to relieve Lozer for North Central in the top of the third. He held the Millers in check for the 4th, but that didn't last more than one inning.
Parrish barely had an ample amount of time to get settled in on the mound before Noblesville hit everything that he threw near the plate in the 5th inning. Shortstop Jensen Kirch allowed Porter on base for his third consecutive time with an error. Wilson singled to left. Christman bunted for a single to load the bags for the DH Mike Nichols. Nichols hit the ball to short and Kirch did the smart thing and threw home to get the lead runner out, leaving the bases loaded with Nichols' fielder's choice. Vallier took a 3-1 pitch straight up the middle and into center field, driving in Wilson and Christman, 6-0 Millers. Welch belted his own 3-1 pitch for a two-run triple to the wall for a 8-0. Fansher nabbed another RBI with a single up the middle that scored Welch from third that put Noblesville up 9-0 after 5 innings.
That wasn't enough for Noblesville and I can't say that I blame them at all. Wides got his second hit of the ballgame, lifting a double to the huge gap in right center and he stole second just one pitch later. Porter dropped a single into shallow left to give the Millers second and third with no outs. Wilson flied out to right, sending Wides home for a comfortable 10-0 cushion. Christman and Nichols both walked to load the bases up with Millers again. Vallier hit his second two-run single in as many innings to put Noblesville up a cool dozen. Welch reached via a fielder's choice, but was substituted on the base path by Brian McLean for running purposes. Vallier was forced out at second for two outs. McLean scored the 14th and final Miller fun on a Justin Holloway pinch-hit double to the left field wall, on one bounce.
Murphy was in complete control on the hill, allowing only four hits from North Central while shutting out the Panthers. Taran struck out five, but more importantly, only allowed five balls out of the infield, just one of those being an actual hit.
Noblesville improved its record to 14-17 on his season and North Central ended 2012 at 14-15.
Game 5: Zionsville 15, Westfield 2 (6 innings)
It wasn't a real shocker that Zionsville took down Westfield in this semi-final tilt, but I didn't think it would get as bad as it got to be.
Easy did it in the top of the first for Z-ville. Ben Kocher walked. Troy Kuhn lined a single right down the left field line, giving the Eagles runners in scoring position. The pitcher Parker Dunshee drove Kocher home for a 1-0 edge. Ryan Bertram hit a sac fly to center to score Kuhn. Joel Trewartha then belted and RBI double to center to score Dunshee for a 3-0 lead for Zionsville after one.
Drew Small and Kocher both singled with one out in the second and were driven in by Kuhn's two-run double down the left field line. Now it was 5-0 after two and Westfield was forced into panic mode. TJ Ehrman got the final two outs of the second, pitching the Rocks out of the jam, somewhat.
Ehrman lasted four-plus innings. The Eagles only got one run in the third. Nick Barrientos scored on an error after he singled with one out.
Zionsville put up another big number on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. A leadoff walk by Kocher, he was driven in by a Dunshee RBI triple. Trewartha walked to get aboard with Dunshee. Barrientos touched them all, if you will, on his three-run triple. The center fielder raced around the bases and was able to head home when Ehrman had overthrown a ball to first, allowing Barrientos to score. The Eagles were up 10-0 through four and a half innings, and the double-digit run rule only counts through six innings, so Westfield had to try and fight through more of this brutality it was facing from the 4A #5 ranked Zionsville squad.
With two down in the fifth, Westfield showed signs of life for really the first time all game long. Alec Nelson drilled a long single directly down the left field line. The next pitch, Bailey Partlow drove a fastball deep over the left center fence for a two-run home run onto State Road 32, bouncing twice before tagging an SUV on the fly.
Zionsville finished their scoring in the sixth, but it took longer than Westfield wanted it to. Kuhn hit a quick grounder up the middle and into center to lead off. Dunshee was hit by an Ehrman pitch. Bertram bunted and was forced out at first on a 3-4 play. Trewartha was intentionally walked without a pitch being throw to him and Barrientos walked. Harry Farber knocked a two-run double and rounded second just a little too far and he was tagged out on a 2-5-4 play for the second out. DH Cam Richey drove in Barrientos with an RBI single just passed Jake Dietz at short. Richey then scored on a Kocher single for the final tally of 15-2, sending Zionsville to the sectional championship to face Noblesville.
4A #5 Zionsville was now heading to the sectional title game with a 25-5 record and Westfield fell to 17-13 to end its 2012 baseball season.
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